It's called "celebratory gunfire"...people using guns instead of fireworks to make some noise, but sometimes with deadly results.

A lot of people use fireworks to celebrate the Fourth of July…but some celebrate with gunfire.

Stockton police are hoping to stop that.

New Year's Eve and the 4th of July are the two days on which bystanders are at greatest risk from people celebrating by firing guns into the air.

Stockton Police estimate about 100 gunshots go off on each of those days.

Officer Joe Silva says what goes up must come down somewhere.

"These bullets will go through roofs, go through cars, and even a couple of years ago, we found a kid who was in his bedroom when a person fired a gun, the bullet went through the window and struck and injured the child,” said Silva.

In Stockton, a 15-year-old boy was killed by a stray bullet on New Year's Eve 12 years ago...2 years ago a woman was wounded as she watered her backyard on the 4th of July.

Silva says police will be out in force this Independence Day targeting areas where gunfire was reported last year.

If you are caught shooting a gun, a conviction can bring a thousand dollar fine and 3 year prison term.